Tomb curses Ĭurses relating to tombs are extremely rare, possibly because the idea of such desecration was unthinkable and even dangerous to record. Redford called it 'unadulterated claptrap'. The evidence for curses relating to Tutankhamun is considered to be so meager that Donald B. Despite popular misconceptions, no curse was found inscribed in the Pharaoh's tomb. There had been stories of curses going back to the 19th century, but they multiplied after Howard Carter's discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun. These appear to be directed towards the ka priests to protect the tomb carefully and preserve its ritual purity rather than as a warning for potential robbers. There are occasional instances of genuine ancient curses appearing inside or on the façade of a tomb, as in the case of the mastaba of Khentika Ikhekhi of the 6th Dynasty at Saqqara. However, the modern origins of Egyptian mummy curse tales, their development primarily in European cultures, the shift from magic to science to explain curses, and their changing uses-from condemning disturbance of the dead to entertaining horror film audiences-suggest that Egyptian curses are primarily a cultural, not scientific, phenomenon. Since the mid-20th century, many authors and documentaries have argued that the curse is 'real' in the sense of having scientifically explicable causes such as bacteria or radiation. This curse, which does not differentiate between thieves and archaeologists, is claimed to cause bad luck, illness, or death. The curse of the pharaohs or the mummy's curse is a curse alleged to be cast upon anyone who disturbs the mummy of an ancient Egyptian, especially a pharaoh.

The Royal Cobra ( Uraeus), representing the protector goddess Wadjet, atop the mask of Tutankhamun. For other uses, see Curse of the pharaohs (disambiguation).

Mummy gold sarcophagus AND byu